Thursday, February 24, 2011

Our team, Werther's Originals, received the following E-mail today from the Management of the company that runs our softball league:

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Werther’s Team:

My apologies for the situation last night. I am unhappy with the way things were handled and I am sorry. Knowing that Roland has been on the roster and played all season, he should have been given the opportunity to sign the roster and play last night. I understand that there were some unhappy people vocalizing their displeasure using curse words. While this is not allowed in our league, I understand the circumstances.

I am in the process of updating our policies/procedures and making some changes with staff to make sure this dosen't happen again.

I would appreciate the opportunity to have your team play with us again.

Thanks!

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And then she signed her full name here.

To which, I responded with this:

Tracey

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Thanks for that E-mail and following up with us. It did seem very bureaucratic, and made no sense, but at the same time, our guys did not handle it as well as they should have. I do think the umpires did a great job of handling everything within the parameters of the situation. ( as best we could tell, we think Roland must have signed some other teams roster, because he got his shirt that opening day and clearly remembers signing something to get that, I.e. they wont give you your shirt if you don't sign)

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Anyways, I appreciate you reaching out. I know some of the hotheads last night did talk about finding another league for next season, but Personally I love the league we are in and the setup of the location, the shorter fence, and the Wednesday night time slot, along with having playoffs.

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Then a little while later, one of the lawyers on our team sent this E-mail:-Tracey,

We appreciate your apology and action to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again. We apologize for the demonstration of our displeasure by way of profanity, as this was certainly not how we sought to end the championship game of our team’s seventh season in the league.

Over the past few seasons, Spencer has become increasingly abrasive towards our team for reasons we do not understand. Last night appeared to be a culmination of his dislike for our team. During the past few seasons, Spencer has substituted as a player for nearly every opposing team during regular season play. That has never been a problem for us. Through this past season, Spencer was fully aware that Roland was a paid for member of our team, that he was our regular first baseman, and that he was on the roster. However, last night, Spencer chose to wait until the bottom of the first inning to bring the signature issue regarding Roland to our attention. Had this been a simple oversight, we would clearly understood, and done what was needed to move on. Instead, Spencer belatedly walked onto the field with a condescending smile and announced that Roland could not play because he failed to sign the roster sheet prior to the beginning of play. When Roland offered to sign the form, we were told that rules were rules, and that because the game was already under way, he was disqualified. Spencer later noted that he knew of the signature issue prior to the start of the game. Knowing of the technicality, he failed to bring the issue to our attention. Instead, Spencer chose to disqualify Roland, by way of a technicality that he purposefully chose not to correct. By these actions, Spencer has fallen woefully short of his task of “making sure every one's having fun and things run smoothly” as stated on the league website. Further, it seems that Spencer has neglected his responsibility to verify signatures on rosters prior to allowing anyone to play from the beginning of the season in this case.

Unfortunately, Roland’s mid -game disqualification and the ensuing discussions led our team to became more focused on mitigating an escalating situation than winning the championship game at hand. This distraction manifested itself through our play and frustration. This situation was completely avoidable. We understand and appreciate the umpires actions in applying the rules regarding profanity and thank you for your efforts to prevent this in the future. Nevertheless, we feel that Spencer’s actions deprived our team of a fair chance to compete for the championship.

We have enjoyed all but the end of the seven seasons we have played in this league, and appreciate your efforts to provide a quality recreational experience. However, we will not return for another season without assurance that Spencer has been removed as commissioner.

6 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Bill- to add to ur synopsis, Tracy evidently told Spencer to let Roland play when he called her during the game about the situation. He told her it was too late for that, as Roland left the field. We both know he was standing in the dugout until the end of the game, even got a warning for stepping on to the field to coach. Further, Roland didnt sign another teams roster. He signed ours on but under a different player's name. This Tracy supposedly told Spencer they over look this stuff all the time and to do so here.

The events, though unclear to many of us at the time, certainly warranted the disgust directed at Spencer. As for the umpires who initially maintained a respectful and sympathetic demeanor, I feel no ill will toward them but would note they were complicit in the perpetration of this fraud. Certainly they're familiar with the rules of the league and could have spoken up to right the misjustice. With that, I look forward to next season. Assuming TBCS is true to their word and gets rid of Spencer, I'll stand shoulder to shoulder with my mates and dutifully hold my tounge.